THE SPITZ TAKE: Natick youth center needs adults to succeed

Sometimes "there's nothing to do'' is just kidspeak for same old, same old, and sometimes it's a statement of fact.

Milford has a youth center that attracts about 200 kids a day. Boys & Girls Clubs of MetroWest clubhouses in Framingham, Hudson and Marlborough offer a spot for young people to catch up on homework, play games and shoot the breeze. The Ashland Coalition of Teens hosts occasional events like the annual bonfire and battles of the bands. Sudbury's Jean Lind Teen Center gives middle-schoolers a place for a night out.

But while Natick has strong sports programs, a great library and a super-sized mall, it doesn't have a youth center.

At least not yet.

If enough adults are willing to volunteer a little of their time, a youth center will open next fall across from the Natick Common.

Exactly what will be offered is still a work in progress, said the Rev. Ian Mevorach, pastor of the Common Street Community Church, where the center will be located.

"We have a great area to turn into a drop-in center,'' he said of the church's space. "We have a plan to have a band room,'' where kids can play music, and hope "to raise money for a recording studio,'' he said, but the goal is to "let the youth lead. ... We hear from them what they're looking for, and we facilitate that.''

While the seeds for starting the center are tied to the church, which celebrated its first service on Christmas Eve 2012, "it's going to be a community youth center, not a church youth group. To work, it has to be nonsectarian. ... We want to work really hard to make this a safe place for all'' young people.

Mevorach, a 29-year-old doctoral student at Boston University and former associate pastor at The First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, was sent to Natick in 2012 by the American Baptist Churches USA to sow the seeds for a new church after the former congregation at the 13 Common St. site decided to disband.

As part of the process, he was tasked with finding out what his new community needed, what project would be of help to all in town, not just potential church members.

"I did a needs analysis of the community,'' he said, and "found a lack of resources for youth.''

Not that Natick has a bigger need than any other community. In fact, "sports are very strong in Natick,'' so the center's focus is likely to be more on the artistic. But every community can do more to offer opportunities to its young residents, particularly opportunities that come without hefty fees, and every community struggles with issues of teen substance abuse.

Page 2 of 2 - "The youth center could be seen as a protective factor for substance abuse prevention,'' Mevorach said. An AA group for young people has already begun meeting at the church.

A number of people have expressed interest in helping launch the youth center.

"The culture of volunteerism is huge in Natick,'' Mevorach said.

"I think Ian's done a great job connecting with a lot of people in town,'' said Natick resident Anne Lafleur, who is helping to get the center launched. The issue "right now (is) how do we make that vision a reality? People are out there, but we need to find them.''

"Our push this month is to recruit volunteers, get them on board, vetted, trained up, so we can open in the fall,'' said Mevorach.

"Our longterm goal would be to get a director on-site five days a week,'' he said. He'd also love to see a youth-run cafe that would not only offer a safe place for kids to congregate, but a chance for jobs as well.

But for now, the success of the project hinges on volunteers to give young people a place where "they don't have to pass a test, they don't have to create anything,'' they can merely be accepted and appreciated for who they are, he said.

Those who would like more information can email ian@commonstreet.org or call 508-655-9636.

Julia Spitz can be reached at 508-626-3968 or jspitz@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter at SpitzJ_MW.